Director of Development; SY

Location: Nashville, TN

Employment Type: Full-time, in-person, 12-month position

Salary: Range is between $81,840-$94,160 and placement is based on years of comparable professional experience.

Valor Collegiate Academies, based in Nashville, TN, stands out for its unique blend of academic excellence and holistic student development. Our network comprises 3 high performing schools, a trailblazing Innovation team and a nationwide Impact team.

Valor is consistently ranked among the top 5% of schools in Tennessee for both achievement and growth. Our students outperform statewide averages, with ACT scores in the 99th percentile for open‑enrollment schools. Our three schools have received A+ ratings from the Tennessee Department of Education, excelling in academics, growth, and college readiness.

Our "Compass" model is central to our mission, emphasizing comprehensive human development alongside rigorous academics. This approach nurtures relationships and identity‑building, preparing students for both academic success and personal growth. Valor fosters a community intentionally diverse by income and race, and this inclusive environment enriches student learning and ensures opportunities across demographics.

At Valor, our model includes our 3 schools in Nashville, an Innovation Team, and an Impact Team. Our newly established Innovation Team was created to explore and design new educational solutions that can support our community’s own needs, the emerging future, and the broader education sector.

We are seeking a dynamic Director of Development to lead the fundraising and revenue strategy that fuels this team’s cutting‑edge work. As one of the premiere education organizations in the country, Valor is seeking an experienced leader who can effectively champion the Innovation Team’s vision and bring new funders into the fold. The Director of Development will work closely with senior leaders to translate Valor’s efforts into clear, compelling narratives that inspire action and drive sustained philanthropic investment.

The ideal candidate brings a strong track record in education fundraising and the strategic instincts to both deepen existing partnerships and cultivate new individual and institutional funders to support our mission.

Funder Management, Communication, and Board Engagement:

• Support Valor’s Innovation Team through strategic and intentional meeting prep, including crafting meeting agendas, details and pointed talking points, and suggesting targeted follow ups and next steps
• Maintain detailed record of funding meetings to ensure overall engagement strategy is efficient, aligned to funder interests, and moves the relationship forward
• Develop and cultivate relationships with both individual and institutional donors
• Support Valor’s Innovation Team to develop, cultivate, and steward relationships with high leverage donors
• Proactively engage current and potential donors in Valor’s work through regular check‑ins, site visits, events, etc.
• Manage and support the Innovation Team’s funder relationships, draft notes, send reminders, and keep track of follow ups and tasks related to funding opportunities
• Develop a communications strategy that engages funders on a regular cadence, sharing updates from the work, stories from students, learnings and insights, and more
• Proactively and regularly engage Valor’s Board of Directors in fundraising efforts by helping them mine their network, identify potential connections, and cultivate and steward donors

Prospect Research:

• Conduct targeted research to identify new potential funders that align to Valor’s overall mission (organization wide and impact team missions)
• Find network connections to prospective funders, leveraging Valor’s staff and board relationships to ensure warm outreach as much as possible
• Draft outreach communication for leaders to share with prospects
• Create a simple contact relationship manager (CRM) system
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date CRM that the broader team can access and interact with

Grant Writing & Report Management:

• Research potential grant opportunities, such as RFPs and open applications
• Develop and submit…